Stuckey scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night to help the Pistons to a 116-109 victory against the New Jersey Nets.

Stuckey, who also had 10 assists and five rebounds, came off the bench after not playing in the previous two games. Kuester held him out of those two games after Stuckey refused to re-enter the game in the fourth quarter Friday against Chicago.

"I just let my emotions get in the way," Stuckey said. "I’m still a young player. I’m really passionate about this game and stuff like that, so I just let my emotions get in the way.

"I got punished and it’s over."

When asked about Stuckey, Kuester said that sometimes "messages have to be sent."

"You’ve got to be committed to what the team is all about," Kuester said. "It’s not about one individual. It’s not about any individuals at all. It’s about being a team.

"We have to be disciplined. I knew going into this year -- and it has not panned out the way I wanted it to — for us to be successful, we have to collectively do it."

It took a team effort to beat the Nets. Greg Monroe also had a double-double -- his 19th of the season -- with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Richard Hamilton came close to a double-double with 25 points and nine assists.

The Pistons used a team effort and a zone defense late in the game to slow Nets center Brook Lopez, who finished with a career-high 39 points to go with seven rebounds. Lopez scored his final points of the game with 9 minutes, 50 seconds on the clock.

"Lopez was such a load and was playing extremely well," Kuester said. "We tried everything on him."

The victory ended a four-game losing streak and all but locked the Pistons into the seventh spot in the draft order, pending the outcome of the draft lottery. The win moved the Pistons three games ahead of the Nets with four games remaining. A loss would have left the Pistons one game ahead of the Nets.

Stuckey was forced into heavy minutes when starting point guard Will Bynum left the game late in the first half with a strained calf. Kuester decided prior to the game that he would not use Tracy McGrady (rest), so he used Stuckey the entire second half.

Stuckey said the message Kuester was trying to send with his benching came through loud and clear.

"Absolutely," he said. "Whenever I’m not out there on the court competing with my teammates, it sucks. I want to be out there fighting with them as well.